Tag Archives: White Mountains

Lincoln’s Throat Attempt

I was back East for a few days, and decided the trip wouldn’t be complete without some skiing. Though NE had been without new snow for over a week, we thought we’d have a go at Lincoln’s Throat, even though we couldn’t find much beta as to its current condition.

Shane, Sweeney, Kelly and I rode up for a mid-morning start. We found clearing skies, and as we ascended, the snow-pack was softening up, but there was an evil looking rain crust with unconsolidated snow beneath all along the trail. Sweeney had lent me a heavy set-up, which I was excited to ski, and thankful I had something to tour with. Sadly, as we skinned up the drainage, temperatures cooled off, and our hopes of soft snow disappeared as winds picked up.

Playing with the snow.

Into the drainage. Things were briefly looking up.

As we reached a fork, instead of a prime slope, we found an ice bulge, and there we decided to pick a location for a pit stop and consider our options. As we ate some snacks, two climbers post-holed down the slope towards us, revealing hollow snow in spots undermined by melt-out and held together by the rain crust.

Ice bulge of nope.

Remnants of a post-hole. Time to turn around.

The climbers revealed it was ‘terrible’ up top, and given our displeasure at even the current conditions, we opted to transition and ‘ski’ down, then immediately head to the nearest bar. As we descended, the mountain got socked in above us, and Kelly had a boot malfunction.

Never a sight you want to see on a ski tour.

No toe-block screws? No problem.

Spirits were high here.

Kelly getting some turns.

Time to hike again.

Skiing the hiking trail was more a matter of speed than fun. Zero style points were had.

My trip back wouldn’t have been complete without this ‘classic’ NE tour. Luckily Sweeney is flying out this week to visit, so we can do some real skiing.

…To Those Who Wait: Highlight Reel

Part 2 of Nemo at Wildcat! Due to limited goPro juice, the footage only shows the first few hours of the day, although the best snow at the resort was in the morning. As usual, some great turns never made it on film, but I was psyched just to have a reason to use my new toy.

We’ve got a mash-up for you from Brian and I’s perspectives, check it out:

…To Those Who Wait

While many New Englanders hunkered down and prepared for the worst, there were those among us who geared up and prepared for the best…

…well at least the best we’ve had in a while. All the hype surrounding Nemo gave us hope that at least the resort skiing scene would get back on track, and in many ways it did. The storm tracked further south than would have been preferred by some skiers, but pockets of the North received a healthy dose of our favorite natural resource. Determined not to miss a single ounce of the precious stuff, and not to be marooned in the soon to be paralyzed Boston, we hit the road at the crack of dawn Friday morning.

The Clipper components of the storm arrived over Northern VT early on Friday, delivering a good refresher dose to the ailing snowpack. We skied Jay for the day and then followed the weather southeast toward the center of the storm. For the arrival of the Nor’easter we wagered that Wildcat would have the best ratio of slope-angle to snow. We hit the jackpot and were greeted by upwards of two feet of dense snow which filled in all but the largest nooks and crannies in the Northern Whites. For day one, we hit the slopes armed with insulating layers and GoPros. Stay tuned for some highlights! Day two brought a spectacular blue-bird day with temps mercifully approaching the 20s and almost no wind. We decided to take advantage of the great conditions and pull out the point-and-shoots, just so we’d have evidence of the shredding that was perpetrated once winter finally returned…

Thusly rejuvenated, we returned to Boston to get back to work so we’d be ready for the next time Old Man Winter decided to come out of hiding.

Not Much Skiing to be Had? Time for a Hike

The time was ripe for a nice weekend hike two weeks ago. Prior to the big storm we just got in NE, the snow situation was getting a bit depressing.

We picked our target-Cannon, and packed for a two-day stay on Fraconia ridge. We started the hike along with a big group decked out in the latest and greatest REI gear, and set out at a steady pace for the AMC hut at Lonesome Lake. When we reached the Lake about an hour later, there were a number of other people gathered, like us, excited to be there. We could see the hut just peaking out from the trees across the lake.

Takin’ a short break at the Lake

Catherine, as we reached Lonesome Lake.

The view from our bunkroom

We quickly got to the lodge to warm up, and drop our gear in a bunkroom, so we could start up the High Cannon trail to the summit. We knew we were in for a bit of an adventure when the only set of tracks ahead of us were a single trail of crampon points, though armed with microspikes, we steadily ascended.

Soon we burst out of the trees onto a cliff trail, ascending via worn 12+ ft ladder. The trail then flattened out through thick woods.

It felt very secluded nearing the top of Cannon.

At the summit, it was cold. Blowing snow clung to the lookout tower, and the lifts on the Cannon resort side were nearly empty at 2pm. There was one other couple at the top, who kindly took our photo….12 times.

One of…several shots at the peak.

I tried getting a better look at the slides, across the notch, but they looked pretty gnarly. Hopefully the situation is quickly changing this week.

Attempting to scope out the slides across the ridge as the fog rolled in.

As soon as we started the descent, we were excited about the thought of warming up at the hut, but the trail made for very slow going. Water ice covering the steep trail met us at every turn, causing me to bushwhack around more than once.

This was the actual trail, descending on the kinsman side. We had to bushwhack around.

A trail junction on the hike back.

We decided to mosey back to the hut rather than continue to North Kinsman, due to the fact I’d heard of no fewer than 4 separate groups saying they’d attempted the trail and were turned back.

Back at the lake enjoying the afternoon

Back at the lake we snacked and watched some kids play on the ice. The hut was Catherine’s favorite part. It was filled with Boy Scouts playing games, their leaders, one other couple, and a very over prepared group of eight. We shared food, exchanged stories, and generally had a great time. The lone caretaker was hard at work, providing hot water and keeping things moving.

Perusing some old logbook,s we discovered the origins of ‘tweeting’

In the un-heated bunk-rooms we threw on layers and arranged my assortment of sleeping bags, since neither of us own a winter bag. Luckily it worked out, and in the morning we rolled out of back, had a hearty breakfast with some warming tea, and headed out.

Daybreak across the ridge

The morning brought clear skies and warmer temps, making for a beautiful hike out.

Although we were cautious at first, after 30-50 people made it across the lake, we walked straight across in the morning.

Looking back at the Hut on the hike out.